I found a new must-have online bookstore app for families with children up to 12 years. It’s called Belugabloo and we are loving it! Belugabloo is actually an online bookstore that you download, and then add apps, games and e-books within it. It’s available on Google Play and iTunes, free to download. Some content for Belugabloo is free, while others have a minimal charge. The books, games and apps within the bookstore are really great- beautiful graphics, quality material and content, and engaging for the kids. It’s also really nice because instead of going into all different apps on my iPad, the kids are going all over Belugabloo and not moving my apps and stuff around- or worse, hiding or deleting them (I’m not the only person this happens to, right?)

My 7 year old asks for Belugabloo all the time. She thinks its so cool to read books on a tablet, and to be able to interact with the books. She had it at the dentist last week and it was so cute to hear her explain to the hygienist that she was ‘helping mom blog’ and explaining about how Belugabloo works. She’s very inquisitive and is really hoping she can start getting some of the books in Spanish so she can teach herself (I loved learning languages as a kid too so I guess she gets that from me?)

When you open one of the books in Belugabloo, you can choose to “Read by Myself,” “Read to Me.” Many also have “Read and Play” for an option. This is great because the kids can all use the app if they are readers or not. I can’t decide if I want to see the words highlighted when the book is read to the kids or not- sometimes I think that’s a good thing and other times I think it’s distracting and takes away from the story.

There are some religious books you can find in this bookstore- something that my family enjoys- my kids are always asking more and more questions about God and the stories in the bible and this is just one more way they can explore that.

For the older kids, there’s some content from Discovery Channel and some other authors with cool science, history and culture books. I have tried to peek at almost all of the apps and books available through the Belugabloo bookstore and most if not all have a free “sample” option to try before you buy- something we don’t always see in apps. I like this feature, because we’ve all had that thing that looks great but doesn’t end up to be what we were wanting it to be…or isn’t quite what we were looking for.

Different levels of play means that your child will be engaged for a much longer period of time.

Apps in Belugabloo range from free to $2.99. Definitely affordable and lend themselves to being enjoyed for a long time with the interactive features contained within each. My little one loves using the “read to me” feature but is also happy to snuggle up with me or daddy (or her big sister) and have us read to her. I always want to be sure that no matter how interactive things are, that the kids are having interaction WITH us and not alone, something I feel we parents in the digital age need to be aware of.

The bookstore is available as a free app on Apple iTunes and Google Play, and features e-books, games and apps, designed for babies and children up to age 12. Sample features include:

· Animated story books with built-in play activities

· Customizable options such as “read to me,” “read by myself” and “games”

· Books, games and apps that cover subjects like counting, colors, art, music and more

· Content that is available in a variety of languages, including Spanish and Chinese

I appreciate the fact that the apps can help with basic reading, math and several Discovery books that can help with science & social studies skills. My 5yr old grandson uses his dads Kindle more than either of his parents. If I was lucky enough to win I would give it to my daughter & son-in-law so they wouldn’t have to “share” with Barrett any more:)